In a switched fabric environment there is a need for security control of the FC switching infrastructure. Which of the following should be implemented to give the STRONGEST level of protection?

LUN masking is a storage array feature that controls access to LUNs at the storage level, not a security control for the Fibre Channel switching infrastructure itself.

Soft zoning relies on the Fibre Channel Name Server for enforcement and is less secure than hard zoning because devices could potentially ignore zone information or spoof WWNs to gain unauthorized access.

Hard zoning provides the strongest level of security in a Fibre Channel fabric by enforcing access control at the physical switch port level. This ensures that devices connected to specific ports can only communicate with other devices in the same zone, effectively preventing unauthorized communication even if a World Wide Name (WWN) is spoofed.

Port mapping is not a recognized or standard Fibre Channel security mechanism that provides a strong level of protection for the switching infrastructure.